I thought I could finally rest after finishing up the wedding aftermath. But there was no guarantee that Seo-hui would stay still....
Maybe because her mom and dad weren't around, Seo-hui was cranky and rampaging through the house.
Now that Seo-hui could walk, she was practically a tyrant in the house.
"Daddyyy!!"
Seo-hui wandered around the house looking for Kim Seo-bang, but he was gone on his honeymoon with Saet-byeol.
"Seo-hui-ya, Daddy's not here, come over here."
I called her to try and make her understand, but it was no use. Seo-hui checked the study where Kim Seo-bang often was for his studies, and the room where they slept together, and then she realized her mom and dad weren't there, and she started to sob.
"Hamuni."
Maybe because it was just Shi-hyun and me at home, Seo-hui immediately started looking for me.
"Yes, I'm here."
As soon as I approached and hugged her, Seo-hui sobbed even harder.
Patting her back, Seo-hui started to cry sorrowfully. Seeing her cry while calling for her mom, I felt so sorry. I brought up the honeymoon story without thinking, making Seo-hui feel lonely....
"Grandma is sorry."
After comforting Seo-hui, I made her a delicious meal. It was hard to know exactly what she wanted since she couldn't communicate properly yet, but thankfully, or maybe I should say predictably, she wanted to eat what we were eating.
I shared a little of the hamburger steak I had originally prepared for Shi-hyun.
As expected of Saet-byeol's daughter and Shi-hyun's granddaughter, Seo-hui also really liked meat.
"Is it yummy?"
"Woong!"
At night, I slept with Seo-hui, who was showing signs of anxiety. Shi-hyun reacted with some dissatisfaction, but after looking at Seo-hui, he sighed and made room.
When Seo-hui woke up after sleeping soundly, she looked for her mom and dad just like yesterday.
Saet-byeol and Kim Seo-bang hadn't returned yet, so it took some time to soothe her. She wasn't usually like this, suddenly it's so bad....
I tried hard to play with her and comfort her, but she kept looking for her mom, which made me flustered.
"Anya!"
"Seo-hui-ya?"
"Shiyeo!!"
Seo-hui just ran away from me when I called her. After repeating tag with Seo-hui, Saet-byeol came home. She came back late at night, and Seo-hui started crying when she saw her.
"Mom!"
"Why is our daughter crying?"
Finally, I could take a breather. More than that, why does Kim Seo-bang's face look so gaunt? Compared to him, Saet-byeol looked to be in pretty good shape.
"She was crying looking for you and Kim Seo-bang."
She waited so well until now....
"Really? She missed her mom."
Saet-byeol rubbed her cheek against Seo-hui's cheek, and Seo-hui, for some reason, stopped crying and started laughing.
"Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, I had fun thanks to you."
Kim Seo-bang smiled ambiguously without saying anything. I could vaguely see fear in his expression. What on earth did they do together?
Shi-hyun suddenly tapped my shoulder and started dragging me into the room.
"Eh, eh? What's wrong?"
"Seo-hui probably wants to be with her parents too."
"B-But, I wanted to talk a little more...."
Shi-hyun didn't listen to me. He just threw me over his shoulder and took me to the room.
"It's time to sleep now."
I punched Shi-hyun with my fist, but it didn't work at all.
"That's too much...."
Ignoring my objections completely, Shi-hyun hugged me tightly and went to bed.
It's a shame, but I'll have to talk to Saet-byeol tomorrow....
*
After perfectly wrapping up the wedding, I had some free time. While Saet-byeol was at home, Shi-hyun and I went to the Gate. I wanted to enjoy the freedom I wouldn't have once Saet-byeol went back to school, even if just a little.
"Hoo, we finished today's quota."
I stretched my back after dealing with the monster horde.
"Good job."
Shi-hyun quietly started collecting magic stones.
"Ah, let's do it together."
"No, just rest."
Shi-hyun was trying to be unnecessarily considerate.
"I'm trying to collect them quickly so we can go out and rest."
Shi-hyun smiled gently.
"Let's go with that."
Shi-hyun collected the magic stones at an even faster pace for some reason. Watching Shi-hyun like that made me feel strangely bad, so I also increased my speed.
After collecting all the magic stones and comparing the numbers, there was a three-fold difference. I thought I was collecting them pretty fast too!
"Ugh...."
Seeing Shi-hyun so triumphant made me a little annoyed.
When we came out of the Gate, the sun was high in the sky.
"This is still uncomfortable."
Since my stamina is good, staying up all night has become a normal thing. Back when I was weaker, I used to sleep inside the Gate or take long breaks to distribute my stamina....
"Really? I think it's better to just solve it quickly and get out."
Shi-hyun might be like that since he's been doing it all along. But that's not me.... Well, this is just a brief amusement, so let's not think about it too seriously.
Since we had so much time to spare, we headed somewhere other than home.
"How many months has it been since we came here ourselves?"
They come to us when there's work, so we never go there ourselves.
"I think it's the first time since we moved."
"Aren't you worried about your daughter?"
"Does worrying change anything?"
Shi-hyun's blunt words bothered me a little... but he wasn't wrong. It's not just any kid, it's Shi-a. She was mature from the start, and she's not that young anymore.
When I rang the doorbell of the house where Shi-a lives, I heard a response from inside.
"Yes, who is it?"
It wasn't Shi-a's voice. So, it must be Su-bin.
"Su-bin-ah? It's Shi-a's mom."
"Ah! I'll open the door for you."
It was Su-bin, not Shi-a, who opened the door.
"What is Shi-a doing that you came out?"
Is she three months pregnant now? I could see her belly was a little bigger.
I quickly ushered Su-bin inside.
"Pregnant women should rest comfortably."
Su-bin didn't know what to do when she saw Shi-hyun and me. I forced her to sit on the sofa and started talking.
"Where did Shi-a go?"
"She went to buy something to eat."
Something to eat....
"Not cooking?"
Judging by the way she slightly avoided my gaze, it seems she doesn't cook much. I wanted to tell her to cook and eat healthy food, but I couldn't nag a pregnant woman.
"Is there anything difficult during your pregnancy?"
"It would be a lie if I said it wasn't difficult."
I could sympathize with that awkward smile. When people around you worry, you naturally say you're okay, but it's not really because you're okay. You're just enduring it....
"I want to get you something since we came."
Shi-hyun was already looking around the house. I checked the refrigerator to see if there were any ingredients.
"There's not much."
"W-Well, I haven't gone grocery shopping yet."
I thought she used to cook... I guess she's just gotten lazy since she's been living alone for so long?
"Should I pack some side dishes for you like before?"
"It's okay."
Looking at that subtle expression... it seems she's still burdened.
"Okay."
They're reliable kids, unlike Saet-byeol. It's better to not force them too much and help them from a step back.
"I think you need to clean?"
"What?"
Shi-hyun walked around and suddenly said something strange.
"There's a lot of dust, it looks like it hasn't been cleaned in a while."
At Shi-hyun's words, Su-bin smiled awkwardly and avoided my gaze. Seeing that behavior, I guess what Shi-hyun said is true.
I already felt bad that there was nothing I could do for her, so I thought I could at least clean.
"Well, why don't you go to Shi-a? We'll clean up since we're here."
"N-No, it's okay, we'll do it."
Isn't she being too apologetic? It's just cleaning.
"Shi-hyun-ah, call Shi-a and tell her to take Su-bin for a walk."
"Okay."
Shi-hyun, looking annoyed, did as I said. I don't know where she was, but Shi-a received Shi-hyun's call and came home in five minutes.
"Oh, Mom?"
"You came just in time, go on a date while we clean the house."
I pushed Su-bin, who was wearing an outfit for going out, towards Shi-a.
"W-Well."
I left Su-bin, who was stuttering without being able to say anything, to Shi-a.
"Play for about two hours."
Shi-a didn't seem to understand the situation either, but when I forced them out of the house, they had no choice but to head outside.
"Shi-hyun-ah, it's a bother, but let's clean."
"Okay."
Shi-hyun and I worked together to clean Shi-a's house. The good thing was that it wasn't messy with things scattered around, but just a lot of dust and hair on the floor, so it seemed like it would be over quickly.
"Should I buy them a better vacuum cleaner?"
The suction power was disappointing when I was vacuuming. While I was vacuuming, Shi-hyun shook the dust off the blankets and prepared to wipe the floor.
"Wiping now?"
"Yeah, the vacuuming is in the final stages."
After finishing vacuuming, I wiped the furniture and electronics with a hand towel, where dust had accumulated. It might take longer for ordinary people, but as Awakeners, we didn't get tired and our movements were agile.
"Fast."
"Who do you think cleans that big house?"
We call a company to do a big clean sometimes, but I'm the one who cleans it normally!
"That's true."
I told them to play for about two hours....
"It's over in an hour."
"Good job."
Shi-hyun said, stretching.
"Should we go out and buy some ingredients for side dishes?"
Shi-hyun frowned this time.
"I was thinking of making some side dishes for them."
"Okay, what should I buy?"
I wrote down everything I needed to buy.
"You're not worrying about the price and just grabbing anything?"
I didn't even expect Shi-hyun to compare the freshness of the vegetables.
"Just buy what looks good and is expensive."
Usually, expensive things are of good quality.
"Okay."
While Shi-hyun went grocery shopping, I finished tidying up the house.
"Still, it looks like they're doing well."
After checking the whole house, it didn't seem like there was anything to worry about.
"Well, it would be strange to worry about those kids."
Shi-hyun came back with the groceries in 30 minutes, and I immediately started making side dishes. While I was making the side dishes, Shi-a and Su-bin came home.
"We're home."
"Yeah, did you have a good rest?"
I poked my head out of the kitchen and asked.
"Yes, does something smell delicious?"
"I made some because there were no side dishes in the refrigerator."
"It's okay...."
It's not bad to buy food outside or order delivery... but I was still worried.
"I didn't make much."
Shi-a scratched her head looking at the side dishes I had made.
"Don't think about anything, it's because Mom feels sorry for not doing anything for you."
"Well, you cleaned so thoroughly, what should we do...."
Su-bin didn't know what to do with Shi-hyun, feeling sorry.
"It's for my granddaughter, so you don't have to think like that."
Was he embarrassed? Shi-hyun answered bluntly. I finished the last side dish and transferred it to a container.
"I'll do the dishes."
"No."
I did the dishes as they were. It was cute to see Shi-a stomping her feet behind me.
After finishing the cleaning, I immediately prepared to leave the house with Shi-hyun.
"Are you leaving already?"
"It's uncomfortable if we stay."
I couldn't put a burden on the pregnant woman, so I was planning to go back like this.
"W-Well, thank you...."
"Call me if you need more side dishes next time."
Shi-a smiled bitterly. I guess she probably won't call, so I'll have to bring her side dishes whenever I think of it.
"See you next time."
I watched the two of them bow and immediately left the house.
"You couldn't even rest because of me."
"Well, it's enough to see my daughter's face."
I hugged Shi-hyun from behind as he walked ahead.
"You're the best husband after all."
Where else would I find a husband who helps without complaining like this?
I heard Shi-hyun chuckle. We'll have to go around and see their faces like this after the kids all move out, right?
It seemed like it would be lonely if I couldn't see their faces every day.
"Ah! Should we go see Mom before going home?"
"Y-Your mother? That, that's a bit...."
Shi-hyun trailed off.
"Hmm, well, you need to rest too."
I smiled and linked arms with Shi-hyun as we walked.
I loved my reliable husband who was always by my side.